Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon

Wine: Sly Dog Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon.

Grapes: Cabernet sauvignon (90 percent), merlot (10 percent)

Region: Red Hills Lake County, Calif.

Vintage: 2004

Price: $9.99

In the glass: Sly Dog Cabernet is a deep, dense blackish-red color with an opaque core going out into a fine garnet-red rim definition with medium-high viscosity.

On the nose: There are powerfully pungent and classic black fruit characteristics upfront, with a nice basket of sweet crushed berry fruit, black ripe cherries, phenolic compounds, creme de cassis and earth-driven minerality.

On the palate: The wine has highly concentrated and almost chewy black currants, cherry, blackberry, marionberry jam and solid structure. The midpalate is ripe with oak-laden black fruit, licorice root and jammy berry compote, going into a firm and almost heady finish that lingers with anise pastilles, violet drops and toasted oak for a full minute.

Odds and ends: It is nearly impossible to find a bottle of cabernet sauvignon from Red Hills Lake County for less than $25 normally, no matter how poorly it is made. You can imagine my curiosity when I came upon this fabulously rich bottle of Sly Dog Cellars cab for less than $10, knowing that it usually sells for much more. The economy is favoring wine consumers, since this producer has had to slash prices to move inventory. And this is from the top vintage of 2004, so it shows no signs of fatigue and can probably last well into this decade before it becomes fully mature. I would recommend opening this up about one hour prior to consumption, and then enjoy it with tri-tip slow roasted in the oven. Sly Dog is highly recommended at this price, and you might want to buy extra for the cellar.

Gil Lempert-Schwarz's wine column appears Wednesdays. Write him at P.O. Box 50749, Henderson, NV 89016-0749, or e-mail him at gil@winevegas.com.